Jon Moxley Named #1 Wrestler in PWI 2020 Top 500
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley has been named the number #1 wrestler for 2020 in Pro-Wrestling Illustrated top 500 annual list.
Jon Moxley currently holds two championship in 2 different promotions. Moxley reclaimed IWGP United States Championship at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 at the start of the year. Then, he went on to win AEW World Championship at AEW Revolution PPV in February.
Pro-Wrestling Illustrated is celebrating 30 years of its magazine with a special edition this year. Moxley will feature on the cover this year after being ranked as #1 wrestler this year.
This is a special feat for Moxley since he did not even feature on top 10 last time around. He was ranked at #20 in 2019 while his SHIELD teammate Seth Rollins topped the list. Becky Lynch was named at #1 in Women’s list. Moxley has previously featured in top 10 in 2016 and 2017.
WWE’s Adam Cole is second on 2020’s list after carrying the NXT Championship for than a year. Cole was at #18 last year. Former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre and Former IWGP Double Champion Tetsuya Naito complete top 5.
PWI 500 List for 2020 Top 25
WWE has 12 wrestlers in the list, while 5 AEW members make it to top 25. NJPW has 4 names (plus 2 part-timers) while each of ROH, MLW, AJPW and NWA has one name each in top 25. Below is the list of top 25 wrestlers that featured in PWI 500 list for 2020.
| Rank | Wrestler | Promotion | Last Year’s Rank | Accomplishments During the Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Moxley | AEW, NJPW | 20 | AEW World Heavyweight Champion, IWGP United States Champion |
| 2 | Adam Cole | WWE | 18 | NXT Champion |
| 3 | Chris Jericho | AEW | – | AEW World Heavyweight Champion |
| 4 | Drew McIntyre | WWE | 36 | WWE World Heavyweight Champion |
| 5 | Tetsuya Naito | NJPW | 25 | IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, IWGP Intercontinental Champion |
| 6 | Kazuchika Okada | NJPW | 5 | IWGP World Heavyweight Champion |
| 7 | Cody Rhodes | AEW | 15 | AEW TNT Champion |
| 8 | Seth Rollins | WWE | 1 | WWE Universal Champion, Monday Night Messaih Gimmick |
| 9 | Kofi Kingston | WWE | 4 | WWE World Heavyweight Champion |
| 10 | AJ Styles | WWE | 3 | WWE United States Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion |
| 11 | Keith Lee | WWE | – | NXT Champion, NXT North American Champion |
| 12 | Brock Lesnar | WWE | – | WWE World Heavyweight Champion |
| 13 | Kenny Omega | AEW | 8 | AEW World Tag Team Champion |
| 14 | Roman Reigns | WWE | 7 | |
| 15 | Nick Aldis | NWA | 41 | NWA World Heavyweight Champion |
| 16 | Bray Wyatt | WWE | – | WWE Universal Champion |
| 17 | Kota Ibushi | NJPW | 17 | NJPW G1 Tournament Winner |
| 18 | Rush | ROH | – | ROH World Heavywieght Champion |
| 19 | Braun Strowman | WWE | 27 | WWE Universal Champion |
| 20 | Jacob Fatu | MLW | – | MLW World Heavyweight Champion |
| 21 | Will Ospreay | NJPW | 10 | IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion |
| 22 | MJF | AEW | – | Undefeated in Singles Competition |
| 23 | Aleister Black | WWE | 34 | |
| 24 | Kento Miyahara | AJPW | 24 | AJPW Triple Crown Heavywieght Champion |
| 25 | WALTER | WWE | 14 | WWE NXT UK Champion |
Previous Winners for PWI Top 500
The previous toppers for PWI annual list of wrestlers include the likes of Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Bret Hart, Triple H, AJ Styles. Among these, only John Cena has topped the list for 3 different years. Bret Hart, Steve Austin, Triple H and Seth Rollins have each topped the list for 2 years.
| Wrestler | Number of Times at Top | Years |
|---|---|---|
| John Cena | 3 | 2006, 2007, 2013 |
| Bret Hart | 2 | 1993, 1994 |
| Stone Cold Steve Austin | 2 | 1998, 1999 |
| Triple H | 2 | 2000, 2009 |
| Seth Rollins | 2 | 2015, 2019 |
| Hulk Hogan | 1 | 1991 |
| Sting | 1 | 1992 |
| Diesel | 1 | 1995 |
| Shawn Michaels | 1 | 1996 |
| Dean Malenko | 1 | 1997 |
| Kurt Angle | 1 | 2001 |
| Rob Van Dam | 1 | 2002 |
| Brock Lesnar | 1 | 2003 |
| Chris Benoit | 1 | 2004 |
| Batista | 1 | 2005 |
| Randy Orton | 1 | 2008 |
| AJ Styles | 1 | 2010 |
| The Miz | 1 | 2011 |
| CM Punk | 1 | 2012 |
| Daniel Bryan | 1 | 2014 |
| Roman Reigns | 1 | 2016 |
| Kazuchika Okada | 1 | 2017 |
| Kenny Omega | 1 | 2018 |
| Jon Moxley | 1 | 2020 |